Mohammad Labash, Syrian Artist
Syrian native, born in Daraa in 1989
Lives and works in Beirut, Lebanon
Born in Daraa, southwest Syria, in 1989, Mohammad Labash holds a degree in Drawing and Painting (2013) from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University. He lives and works in Beirut, Lebanon.
Mohammad Labash participated in many group exhibitions locally and internationally, such as: 2018 “Cultural Narratives. Artistic Map of the Middle East”, Alskerlal Avenue, Dubai; 2018 ” Homes, Through Artists’ Eyes”, at Mudec Museum, Milano, Italy; 2018 “Syria: A Living History, Through Artists’ Eyes”, with Litehouse gallery in London, London, UK; 2017 “Art Bahrain Across Borders”‚ ArtBAB with Gallery Samer Kozah, Manama, Bahrain; 2017 “Reflections”, Damasquino, Paris, France; 2017 “Syria: A Living History, Through Artists’ Eyes”, Nara, Japan; 2017 “Reflections”, The Arab British Center, London, UK.
His visually charged paintings are filled with vigorous energy, chaotic strokes and blocks of colour overlapping and abutting each other amid scribbled lines. His subdued palettes often feature autumnal colours and his semi-abstract compositions hint at figures lurking in the shadows, inviting the viewer to decipher the details embedded therein. Speaking of his practice, he states, “a painting is like a child with relentless questioning, quest, discovery and trial” – an inquiry that is reflected in his intense painterly technique. Heavily influenced by Damascus’ urbanity and socio-political realities, some of his paintings reflect the dynamism and the tensions that characterize the city.
Artist’s Statement
Here is where the fun, the query, the insanity and the path to dreams all begin, by going back to square one, by returning to blank.
It is a state of indulgence in our instincts, a rupture from reality and the creation of an alternate universe.
It is a set of intellectual paradoxes, daily life vocabulary and inquiry about creation, existence, the unknown and the details of life. It is a contemplation of the compositions of our surroundings, be it trees, objects, people, animals, light reflection, scattered and harmonized colors, nature, life. It is a study of life’s smallest details.
After this long period of thought comes the period of assembling these different elements, their fusion, their recycling and their transformation into an art work of chaotic creativity and a fuss of colors and ideas.
But the story doesn’t end by bringing a painting to life.
To me, a painting is like a child with relentless questioning, quest, discovery and trial, and we always find ourselves going back to square one to the blank.
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